Real Estate Listings by State and Town

First, if I am looking in a town for real estate, I want to get the most complete list of property for sale that I can get. However, the Multiple Listing Service doesn't have them all. Sure, the real estate agents are supposed to put all their listings in the MLS, but there are always "pocket listings" that some agents don't put in MLS. The reasons for this are understandable - they think they can sell it without cooperating (splitting the commission) with other agents, they may not have a contract that guarantees their commission, etc. So where do they put these "pocket listings?" On their website of course!

Second, there are some agents/companies that are not a part of the MLS. This may be because they specialize, they are semi-retired and the MLS fees are too expensive, they aren't allowed in the MLS for some reason, or they consider their properties to be "exclusive" real estate listings.

Knowing the market I want to purchase in is important to me. Once I know what my budget is and I have looked at a few properties, I have a better understanding of value for that area. Once I decide on a property, I look at all the other listings (at least online) to see if what I am spending is in line with what an appraiser is going to find. The more places I have to assure myself that my purchase is a good deal, the better I feel and the better my banker feels!

Try this link and see if you find it as helpful as I do for real estate listings by state and town. Some states are still being researched, but I found that if I send and email for the town I want, they will concentrate on that town and get some links there within 48 hours just because I asked. The url is http://www.REindex.com for real estate by town.